Pusri to build organic fertilizer factory
Pusri to build organic fertilizer factory
Palembang-based fertilizer producer PT Pupuk Sriwijaja in
collaboration with the Ministry of Research and Technology is to
build an organic fertilizer factory in Sunter, North Jakarta.
The factory will turn 1,000 tons of organic garbage per day
into organic fertilizer, Zainal Soedjais, the president director
of PT Pusri on Tuesday.
"The factory is expected to help address garbage problems in
Indonesia's capital, Jakarta," Zainal said in the South Sumatra
capital of Palembang, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with the Minister of Research and Technology, Hatta
Radjasa.
The MoU was signed at Pusri's headquarters in Palembang.
After the signing of the MoU, Radja said that the Jakarta
plant, which would be built at a cost of Rp 100 billion (US$12.5
million), was expected to start operating within three months.
Under the MoU, the Jakarta administration would supply the
Pusri factory in Sunter with as much fresh garbage as it needed
in raw material, and in turn the factory would turn it into
organic fertilizer. The company was expected to be able to
process 1,000 tons of fresh garbage per day.
According to Radjasa, Jakarta produced at least 7,000 tons of
garbage every day, 5,000 tons of which could be recycled into
organic fertilizer.
Zainal said that the construction of the factory would benefit
PT Pusri, as it would get free raw materials for the production
of organic fertilizer. But, the Jakarta administration would
benefit from the plan as well as it would be able to get rid of
some of Jakarta's garbage.
Garbage has long been a problem for the Jakarta
administration.
The Jakarta administration has entered into a contract with
the Bekasi administration that allows it to dispose of its
garbage at the Bantargebang dump in Bekasi.
The contract will end in December this year, but it is not
clear yet whether the Bekasi administration will extend the
contract. There have been prolonged protests by Bantargebang
residents, who have been demanding that the garbage dump be
closed.
Zainal added that farmers were the third group that would
benefit from the project. He said that the organic fertilizer
would be sold to the farmers at Rp 700 per kilogram, far below
the normal market price of Rp 1,000 per kilogram.
Meanwhile, Zainal also said that if the project was a success,
similar factories would be also built in other areas, including
Palembang. Palembang's daily garbage output was quite large at
500 tons of garbage per day, he said. -- Antara